


A Smile.  1/1.

by punky_96



Category: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 03:16:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14155452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punky_96/pseuds/punky_96
Summary: Re-post from LJ.Prompt: fb_miranda_priestly asked for Miranda lost her voice for her BDay. I had the time and once the Pirates line came to mind, well, I had to write it.Disclaimer:  not mine, no profit





	A Smile.  1/1.

  
_**A Smile. Part 1/1.**_  
  
The office was quiet. Too quiet, Emily and Andy kept looking at each other for moral support. The elevator dinged, Emily waited with baited breath and then followed Miranda on her towering heels. Andy and Emily shared a concerned look, eye roll and a shrug as Andy sprinted out for the coffee and Emily continued in the dragon’s wake. The coat and bag were dropped without ceremony and Emily was dismissed with an off hand wave. Wondering what new level of hell she had descended to, Emily wavered just out of Miranda’s office, but not yet returning to her desk. Eventually the ringing of the phone called her back to action and the day; however, off kilter it was going to be had started. Andy trotted in with coffee and then tottered out with uncertainty.  
  
“What’s going on?” Andy leaned over Emily’s desk to provide some level of stealth.  
  
 _I have no idea_. Emily mouthed and rolled her eyes.  
  
Nodding her head slowly as if the answer would eventually settle in her mind like a down feather, Andy turned to her own desk and settled in. The phone rang, people came to drop things off, and the morning hours ticked by.  
  
 _A: Is she going to the lunch mtg?_  
E: I have no idea.  
 _A: Want me to ask her?_  
E: Never ask Miranda anything.  
 _A: I know, but…?_  
  
The typed IM conversation was as fast and furious as the eye/glare conversation in between. If only their skill could have been converted to tennis proficiency and they would have taken Wimbledon—and looked good doing it too. Eventually Emily gave an exaggerated huff and rolled her eyes and waved her hand in that snap/point gesture unique to her. Andy stamped her foot on the plastic mat beneath her desk and shoved away from her desk on the wheeled chair. Emily stood but Andy had already circumnavigated the desk and quick like a bunny she dived into the rabbit hole of the dragon’s lair with a question on her lips. Emily huffed out a silent protest, placed her arms akimbo and waited for the kill shot to be delivered so she could drag Andy out by her hair. She also wondered why the two of them had descended into pantomime just because their boss had a quiet morning.  
  
Lowering her voice to subsonic levels that only dragons could hear, Andrea lined herself perfectly to block Emily’s view of the conversation. She was fairly certain that she was not going to get a cold rebuff today, but she didn’t want Emily using her lip reading skills just in case.  
  
“You lost your voice.” Andrea whispered with just the hint of a question trailing up at the end of the word.  
  
The soft clicks on her keyboard stopped, blue eyes glanced up at her and her lips pursed, then Miranda was once again tapping out the letters on her keyboard and ignoring her second assistant. Humoring herself Andy imagined Miranda typing out I.D.I.O.T. and then since she was able to keep a straight face she imagined G.O.  A.W.A.Y.  
  
Stepping ever further out onto that thin ice, Andy asked, “Have you ever seen the Pirates of the Caribbean where they are at the Pirates' Council and the one guy speaks for the other guy, Sri Sumbhajee?”  
  
Miranda looked at her with evident disdain and then surely typed. M.O.R.O.N. The stare lasted a full ten seconds and the usual fire behind the blue wasn’t as intense, nor did she purse her lips again.  
  
Stepping a half step closer as if it would suddenly make this a better conversation, Andy sighed and got on with proposing her idea. “In the film at the Pirate meeting the guy has someone speak for him.” She paused to make sure her example was separate from her actual suggestion, lest Miranda think that Andy meant they should dress up as pirates which she was sure would be hot, but on Miranda’s ‘ _not at work_ ’ list, perhaps on her ‘ _not on your life_ ’ list. “I suggest moving the lunch meeting here. I’ll bring your usual from Smith & Wollensky’s. They are new people and have only heard stories about you. From the clever Miranda body language system that you’ve developed with Nigel over the years you could signal to myself, Emily or Nigel and we could speak for you like in the film. These people wouldn’t even know it was different from your usual.”  
  
Miranda had stopped typing, her eyes had widened until they couldn’t anymore and then on the ‘body language’ comment they had narrowed. She tilted her head and watched as Andrea eventually talked her point out and came to an apprehensive stop. The girl had guts. Usually she smiled and hemmed and hawed all the time, but under pressure she came through. In her interview the pressure was of outrage at dismissal and now it was in order to help Miranda through the meeting. With her eyebrow she asked the question and waited to see what new facet of character that gesture would lull out of her second assistant.  
  
Running through her mind as to what the question would be, Andy landed on the body language system as the only point of contention. Maybe Nigel had meant it only as signs he looked for in Miranda’s body language and not so much of a communication of her thoughts to him. The other things could be answered with a head nod or a dismissive wave. “Well, if I’m not mistaken one nod is good, two nods is very good, and a smile is over the moon.” Catching herself quickly, Andy added, “That doesn’t happen very often.” She nodded to assure herself that she had the correct information and then remembered the last one because she was waiting for it herself. “If you don’t like something there’s the head shake and then of course there’s the pursing of the lips.” She looked quickly at Miranda and without breaking eye contact she continued. “That means catastrophe.”  
  
Miranda nearly laughed and then made herself cough as she tried not to laugh. Then she groaned and rolled her eyes at her unlikely compatriot. Taking a sip of her water Miranda was thankful for the soothing chill down her throat. Knowing she needed a solution and this was the only one presenting itself, Miranda tilted her head to the side and smirked at Andrea.  
  
Feeling caught out with this new look, although not feeling like her head was on the chopping block, Andy wasn’t sure what could be next. She wondered if Miranda would be typing something sarcastic like B.R.I.L.L.I.A.N.T.  Bending her knee to fidget momentarily, Andy felt her skirt brush against her knee. ‘ _Demonstration!_ ’ Her inner voice stage whispered.  
  
Setting her plan in motion with a nod, Andy pointed to her cardigan, “They are going to be showing you samples. So let’s say they show you something like this…” She trailed off as Miranda gave her the once over, then a nod. “I could tell them something like, ‘good example, keep going.’” Receiving a nod for her interpretation, Andy pointed to her blouse. With the resulting finger twirl motion, she slipped off her cardigan and twirled about. On her way around she thought she might have seen Emily standing there like an angry Tinkerbell as Peter Pan charmed the Wendy Lady. This image made her smile just a bit even as she faced Miranda again. Two nods this time and Andy couldn’t help beaming as if it was a personal compliment instead of just a demonstration. “I would tell them that this is more in line with the direction Runway is going.” This got her another head nod. Slipping her cardigan on again, Andy caught Miranda pursing her lips. “None of that.” Andy scolded without thinking, “I’ve seen those pursed lips and don’t want them directed at me.” Then her brain caught up with her mouth. Her lips made the perfect ‘O’, her brown eyes went wide with shock, and she took a step back instinctively.  
  
While Andy was trying to reverse time and unspeak herself like a poorly made Martial Arts film, Miranda smiled.  
  
Then the hapless assistant went into full-blown shock as she realized the reaction she had actually earned. Nigel’s voice echoed in her mind, ‘ _There's only one actual smile on record and that was Tom Ford in 2001._ ’  
  
Andy shook her head, but when she looked at Miranda there was still a twinkle in her eye. “Um, so can I change the lunch meeting to here?”  
  
Miranda nodded, but then held up her hand with the pointer finger extended in a ‘ _yes, but’_  implication. In frustration she raised her eyebrow at how to communicate the next part. Then she looked up exasperated at Andrea.  
  
Scrunching up her features at how to fine tune the process, Andy thought out loud. “Okay. Let’s go piece by piece with this. Can I change the meeting to here?” She held up her finger to indicate it was the first item in this new series. Miranda nodded. “Do you want Smith & Wollensky’s?” Again Miranda gave the affirmative, but then she tapped her wrist where a watch might be. Andy paused connecting this indication of time with their conversation. Looking at the clock Andy continued on the path she had started. “You want lunch now.” She paused for the nod. “The meeting after lunch so you don’t have to deal with the food aspects as well as the fashion aspects.” After another nod, Andy finished up the last current piece of information. “I should serve as your spokesperson in this coming meeting.” After Miranda’s response Andy thought, ‘ _Grand slam on the nods._ ’ Then realizing that Miranda had both eyebrows raised and was looking curiously at her, Andy sparked into action. “All right.”  
  
Bustling out to the assistants’ area, Andy floored Emily by giving her orders instead of running out crying. They had to make those calls, place the order and re-arrange the rest of the afternoon because of ripple effects, and the clock was already ticking. “I’ll head out to Smith & Wollensky’s then I’ll sit in the meeting with Miranda, so you need to take your lunch while she eats.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
To say that the rest of the day flew by or passed without pain would be a mistake. There were glitches, time outs called and communication took twice as long when Andy had to have a one sided conversation with Miranda; however, by the end of the day she felt more competent, respected, and even liked. Sitting at her desk after Emily’s departure, Andy thought about the day and the subtle things that she had noticed about Miranda and how their interactions had changed. She hoped that it wouldn’t be too long to wait for the book tonight, but she wasn’t sure if she really hoped Miranda felt better the next day. Sure it was awful to have lost one’s voice, but she sure liked having Miranda all to herself in a way.  
  
‘ _Andrea_.’ The brunette smiled as she thought of how Miranda said her name.  
  
“Andrea.” This time it was almost a whisper and she musingly replied with a ‘ _hmmm_ ’ sound.  
  
“We’ll have to do this again tomorrow.” The whisper carried on startling Andy with its thoughts so similar to her own. However, this stuck in her brain and she was drawn out of her daydreams into the reality of an incredibly pleased Miranda Priestly staring down at her with sparklingly amused blue eyes.  
  
Eyes wide, Andy did the only thing she could do, she asked incredulously, “Tomorrow?”  
  
With two smirking nods, Miranda indicated a pleasant yes and then elaborated in her dreamy whisper, “It really freaked Emily out.” With a wink the fashionista made her way off into the night leaving Andy full of all kinds of questions and new daydreams about the enigmatical silver haired dragonlady who might just be capturing her heart.

 

  
  
The End.  
  
x  
  



End file.
